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Topic: Best Volley (Read 2257 times)

Watching the AO always reminds me of Pat Cash and Patrick Rafter. Was there ever anybody with prettier volleys than these Aussies? I guess you could name Edberg, McEnroe, Stan Smith, Becker, Laver, Geuralitas (sp), Nastaste, Henman, LeConte, etc as maybe having the best volley ever...but who else comes to mind?

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I was at this casino minding my own business, and this guy came up to me and said, "You're gonna have to move, you're blocking a fire exit." As though if there was a fire, I wasn't gonna run. If you're flammible and have legs, you are never blocking a fire exit. - Mitch Hedberg

I always enjoyed watching Rafter. I do not recall if his volleys were pretty in form, but they were nice overall. I miss Rafter, so few serve and volley players left. And Heck, even TIm Henman has half abondoned the serve and volley method. He seems to be baselining it a lot these days. I am sure that will change for the Big W.

Edberg certainly was smooth. Man, think how many doubles titles he could have won with his game if he had played more doubles in his career.

Logged

I was at this casino minding my own business, and this guy came up to me and said, "You're gonna have to move, you're blocking a fire exit." As though if there was a fire, I wasn't gonna run. If you're flammible and have legs, you are never blocking a fire exit. - Mitch Hedberg

If nothing else it would help their serve, volley, returns and overheads. I don't understand why more don't play dubs.

Logged

I was at this casino minding my own business, and this guy came up to me and said, "You're gonna have to move, you're blocking a fire exit." As though if there was a fire, I wasn't gonna run. If you're flammible and have legs, you are never blocking a fire exit. - Mitch Hedberg

Edberg's volley's were technically sublime, and tidy tidy tidy. He always used to say volleying was about the legs, all about getting your body into the right position so the racket did minimal work.

Rafter's volleys were something I never could relate to. He had a strange volleying style. When he was taken out wide, he would often hit like this topspin volley with a continental grip. And damn could he hit a high backhand volley with pace.

The great thing about Edberg was his footwork and hands..he was so quick to the service line..it was like he was there before his serve bounce in the court. He was so fluid..

Edberg was on Center Court, the interview show on TTC, and he said until he was about 17, he had a powerful serve. I forgot what he said caused him to change his motion and not go for so much, but it was some kind of physical problem. I know he also used to have a two handed backhand, so it's just fun to imagine all the limitations that caused his game to evolve the way it did.

First off, his forehand is probably the worst of the Open era for a man who made it into the top 10, maybe even top 25. His female counterpart possibly being Pam Shriver. I don't know why nobody ever changed his grip but staying at the baseline was NOT an option.

Changing to a one-handed backhand allowed him to develop a better slice, better volleys, and play a more attacking style. Probably. Anyway, the serve thing is very interesting because it wasn't all that. The only thing he had going for it, really, was it gave him a lot of time to get to the net. His first serve was less potent than Roddick's second, and I really wonder how well he would do on the 21st century tour. Part of me thinks he'd get eaten up. Guys would attack his forehand mercilessly. I wonder if they'd eat his serve up, too.